John McCain criticized President Obama for shaking hands with Cuban leader Raul Castro at the memorial ceremony for Nelson Mandela, comparing the gesture to Neville Chamberlain’s handshake with Adolf Hitler at the start of World War II, saying, ‘It gives Raul some propaganda to continue to prop up his dictatorial, brutal regime.’

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McCain Compared Obama’s Handshake With Castro To Neville Chamberlain’s Handshake With Hitler. According to The Washington Post, “Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) criticized President Obama for shaking the hand of Cuban leader Raul Castro at the memorial ceremony for former South African president Nelson Mandela, comparing the gesture to Neville Chamberlain’s handshake with Adolf Hitler at the start of World War II. ‘It gives Raul some propaganda to continue to prop up his dictatorial, brutal regime, that’s all,’ McCain said sarcastically. … On his way to the podium, Obama walked down the line of dignitaries, greeting other leaders there to pay their respects. Obama neither made a special effort to shake Castro’s hand nor to avoid him…. ‘Neville Chamberlain shook hands with Hitler,’ he said, referring to the British prime minister’s infamous handshake with the German dictator as Britain was negotiating Germany’s takeover of the Sudentenland. The agreement paved the way for the spread of Germany’s military across Europe.” [Washington Post, 12/10/13]

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